NEW
YORK, Apr 17, 2000 (Reuters Health) -- More
than half of all American women have experienced some sort of violence
in their intimate relationships, including physical abuse or psychological
battering, according to a new study.

``I
was expecting half the numbers we found, and the thing that was clearly
the most surprising to us was the large proportion of women who had
ever experienced violence,'' said study co-author Dr. Ann Coker of the
University of South Carolina in Columbia. Between February, 1997 and
December, 1998, Coker and colleagues interviewed over 1,400 women between
the ages of 18 and 65. The women had been in a relationship for at least
3 months and were seeking medical attention at two clinics associated
with the university, according to a report in the April issue of the
American Journal of Public Health.

Overall,
55% of the women had experienced relationship violence, including physical
or sexual violence (77%) and nonphysical abuse (23%).

Women
who had experienced a violent relationship in the past were more likely
to experience violence in their current or most recent relationship.
A male partner's alcohol and drug use, as well as unemployment in either
partner was associated with violence. Women who grew up in families
in which a father physically or emotionally abused their mother were
at higher risks of experiencing intimate partner violence, according
to the report.

In
an interview with Reuters Health, Coker pointed out that the study was
unique because it focused on a broader spectrum of abuse than most studies
on relationship violence. ``The majority of papers look at the women
who are hit and beaten by their partners, and not at the dynamic of
the relationship -- and that's what looking at battering is designed
to do,'' she noted.

The
women were given scenarios of psychological abuse so that the researchers
were able to screen for forms of abuse that are not as clear as a bruise
or black eye. The women were asked to strongly agree or disagree with
statements such as 'He scares me without laying a hand on me' or 'He
has a look that goes straight through me.' ``These were not just put-downs
-- this was much more dramatic than that,'' Coker said.

Women
at risk for abuse need to seek appropriate help and care. ``We're
advocating that physicians or nurse practitioners should universally
screen women for partner violence,''
she said. ``And we'd like to do it in a primary care setting because
in that setting they're not going specifically for the violence -- as
they do in an hospital setting -- so that situation may not be as stressful.''